Chicago has long been at the center of city planning, municipal science, and engineering. In 1909, these converged in the lavishly illustrated Plan of Chicago. The Plan changed Chicago so much I would argue that it deserves to be the fifth star on the Chicago flag. Burnham and Bennett, authors of the Plan of Chicago, looked…

Humans love to explore ancient mysteries and assign blame. After all, people are still searching for Jack the Ripper, Amelia Earhart and Judge Crater. Therefore, librarians are sometimes asked the name of Mrs. O’Leary’s cow that started the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Thereupon lies the mystery. Everyone knows the words to the song: “A hot…

If you know Chicago trivia, you may already know that the oldest business in continuous operation is C.D. Peacock Jewelers. Founded in 1837, the same year Chicago was incorporated as a city, Peacock's was actually one of five jewelry stores in the infant city. These days when you think of jewelry stores what comes to mind…

177 years ago Chicago was officially incorporated as a city. Chicago’s newspapers are a wonderful primary source for descriptions of the city’s birthday, no matter which date Chicago chose to celebrate. For example, the March 4 charter was printed by the Chicago Democrat newspaper. In September 1903 Chicago marked the centennial of the 1803 establishment of…